Rare map loaded with WW II information

Saturday

Nov 9, 2013 at 7:00 AM

Map from Geneseo automotive business found at auction in Atkinson

Dave Clarke

My recent experiences with attic archaeology have taught me never to just pitch a stack of old papers. Piles are created in layers over time and often you find a gem laid between two crumbling newspapers.That’s where Don Doubler, of Annawan’s niece, Diane, found a rare piece of World War II memorabilia.As Don tells it, she was at an auction in Atkinson and bought a few things. At the end of the sale, the auctioneer handed her a stack of old papers that didn’t sell. Being a watchful collector, she decided to go through the pile before throwing it away to see if there was anything there worth saving. Her eye caught what looked like a brightly colored, folded road map. Carefully opening the document she found it was a map of the world, but not just any world map — it was called a Dated Events War Map. About 1-1/2 by 3 feet in size, it was apparently published just after the war, in 1945 or ‘46, and is covered with factual information — dates, photos, lists, and captions which dot the map on land and sea where important events took place during the four-years the U.S. was involved, and before.Where it came from also caught Diane’s eye — “Compliments of Offerle & Schroeder — Petroleum Products, Paints, Tires, and Accessories. Car Service and Tank Delivery. Phone 195, Geneseo, Ill.” Diane knew Don’s wife, Judy, was a Schroeder from Geneseo and gave it to them. The business had been run by her family years ago.Obviously, the item was a “complimentary” gift to customers. There is probably no way of telling how many were printed or how many, if any, are still around, possibly in the Geneseo area where they handed out.Adjacent to the title is printed “This map spotlights and dates the most important events which occurred during World War II following the Munich Agreement on Sept. 30, 1938. Highly informative now — its value and interest will increase with the years.” They certainly got that right.It was called a world war for a reason.The map includes Roll Call of United Nations which lists 38 nations and the dates they declared war on Germany and/or Japan. It truly involved just about the whole world.Also displayed are photos of Eisenhower and MacArthur, “Supreme Commanders of the Allied March to Victory,” as well as the flag raising at Iwo Jima, the sinking of the Arizona at Pearl Harbor which brought the U.S. into the war, and the dropping of one of the two atomic bombs on Japan which finally ended the war.Along each side are the dated events — European Area on the left, from September 1938 to July 25, 1945, and the Pacific Area on the right from January 1932 to September 2, 1945.White banners with big letters proclaim VE (Victory in Europe) Day, May 8, 1945, and VJ (Victory over Japan) Day, Sept. 2, 1945.There is also an enlarged inset of Japan and a box listing the ships and planes lost by both the Americans and Japanese.Before having the original framed, Don looked for a way to make copies of the map. With the help of Jerry Thompson of the Kewanee American Legion Post, he found himself at Kewanee High School last spring.Using the school’s equipment, senior whiz kid Mark Breedlove was able to create a photo document of the map from which to make not only copies in color, but also enlargements. Breedlove is now a freshman film major at Florida State University.Doubler has given copies to the Kewanee Legion post where they will be displayed.The Geneseo VFW has also expressed interest in having a wall-sized mural of the map made for display.Don’s cousin, Mike Doubler, a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who graduated from and taught at West Point, has seen the map and says it is the most complete document of its kind he has ever seen.You could easily spend an hour or more studying the information on this map.Monday is Veterans Day when we will honor those who have given military service to their country. It’s getting harder and harder every year to find World War II veterans. More than 1,000 are dying every day and there aren’t that many left, all in their late 80s and 90s. Someday there will be no one around to tell us what it was like to be there. That’s why this almost-discarded world map handed out to a customer at an automotive store in Geneseo in 1945, which found its way back to the same family 68 years later, is so important.Thank you, veterans, for your service — from the USS Arizona to Afghanistan and everywhere in between. We salute you!